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| | 1. | | Review and approval of the minutes of the September 17, 2009 meeting
Minutes note: The minutes were approved without objection. | | | |
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| | 2. | | Update on the federal stimulus status report and action taken by city departments related to these funds since the last meeting
Minutes note: Sue Kenealy from the Community Block Grants Administration provided an update on the status of grants that the city has applied for. The city received $113,373,000 in grants and created 103 jobs using federal funds. The City is also ensuring that jobs are not double-counted with the state if the city is the secondary recipient rather than the primary recipient. Different grants result in different levels of jobs created as some grants were not created with the intent to create jobs, such as rapid rehousing grants. President Hines asked that the report asterik grants which the city receives directly, rather than through the state or the county. Mr. Nicolini also requested that the COPS grant note that jobs will be created and funded over a 3-year period, as well as other multi-year grants, so it is clear to individuals reviewing this information that these are multi-year grants. The Dept. of Administration will reiterate the need for departments to totally fill out all fields in the database.
Eric Shamberger is the lead for applying for energy efficiency block grants. The Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant award was just approved by the federal government, so the money will shortly be coming to the city. This grant will permit the city to retrofit city vehicles to hybrid vehicles, install some LED street lights, and install private home and business retrofits for energy efficiency.
The city also applied for a competitive grant from the $391 million available nationwide for energy efficiency, although there is a 5:1 city leverage; "leverage" has some flexibility, so the City has applied for this grant. The grant is aimed at regional partnerships with a tight geographic focus so a difference can be tracked. The City may partner with the City of Madison or Racine or the counties of Dane or Brown; with a private company, such as Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation or Johnson Controls; with organized labor; or with a state agency. The city submitted a $75 million application, of which $45-$50 million would come to the city with the remaining going to the partner organization. Talks have been occurring with both Wisconsin Energy and Johnson Controls. This grant would be used to pay for energy efficiency work on private homes. Homeowners wouldn't pay for the energy efficiency work as it is done, but would pay for the work over the years as the energy savings are realized. In the event that a homeowner fails to make payments, the amount due will be placed on the property tax bill. The average single-family home would have retrofit costs of approximately $6,000. The 5:1 local match could potentially be met by using Johnson Control's line of credit, other federal grant funds, issuance of a city bond, staff time for an in-kind grant, and other possibilities. It is also unclear if each partner needs to meet the 5:1 local match or if the partnership, as a total, solely would need to meet the 5:1 standard. The application deadline is December 14th. President Hines requested that a communication file on this grant application be heard before the Steering and Rules Committee this cycle so Council input could be given prior to applying for this grant.
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| | 3. | | Update on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Quarterly Reporting
Minutes note: The first quarterly reports were due in October and Steve Mahan, Community Block Grants Adminstration, took the lead in this. The grants that are currently reporting are very labor-intensive in terms of the amount of information that must be supplied to the federal government. Due to the detailed reporting requirements, there must be staff who are assigned to do this reporting. All the reported information is available on the city's website. | | | |
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| | 4. | | Set next meeting date and agenda
Minutes note: The Staff Assistant will survey members for the next meeting date and time.
Meeting adjourned: 11:39 A.M.
Linda M. Elmer
Staff Assistant | | | |
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